Education 2024: REAR ADM. WILLIAM G. KELLY (U.S. COAST GUARD, RET.)

After nearly four decades of service in the U.S. Coast Guard, Kelly became the sixth president of CNU in July 2023.

Founded in 1960 as Christopher Newport College, a two-year branch of William & Mary, CNU is now a four-year public university that enrolls some 5,000 students in the liberal arts and sciences.

Kelly previously served as the 42nd superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Before that, he was the branch’s assistant commandant for human resources.

A 1987 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, Kelly has a master’s degree in instructional systems design from Florida State University and a certificate in human resource management.

His awards include the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Coast Guard Achievement Medal and the permanent Cutterman’s Pin. 

Kelly was awarded the Federal Government Distance Learning Association Diamond Award and has served as an adjunct professor at Florida State University.

The New York native has served as chair of the Coast Guard Academy’s board of trustees, president of the Coast Guard Mutual Assistance’s board of directors and as a member of the NCAA’s Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee.